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EU Tells TikTok Its Infinite Feed Has Found a Limit
· New York time
The European Commission says TikTok broke the bloc's online platform rules through a recommendation system that can create a harmful rabbit hole for users. Regulators allege the app exposes people endlessly and repeatedly to content related to sadness, isolation or body image. The finding puts TikTok's For You feed, the central mechanism for choosing what users see next, under pressure from European regulators. The issue matters beyond a single screen: TikTok is a major global platform, and its approach to recommendations is central to how it distributes videos and keeps an audience engaged. The Commission's allegation concerns the risks of repeated exposure, not simply the existence of personalized suggestions. That is an uncomfortable distinction for a service built on anticipating what a viewer might watch next. Discovery sounds exciting when the next video is new; it sounds rather different when the same sensitive subject keeps returning like a guest who has misunderstood the phrase good night. The regulators' position puts the design of the feed itself in focus, rather than treating every video as an isolated decision. TikTok's challenge is that the feature meant to make its service feel personally attentive is also the one European officials say can keep users circling the same difficult material. Apparently the algorithm's idea of a helpful follow-up has limits, even if its scroll does not.
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